18 Sep 2023What makes a home for our children?
What keeps them safe, healthy, and educated?
When we make it impossible for parents to provide, who is really failing?
On 25 September 2023, the challenges faced by families with young children living in temporary accommodation will be brought to life in the play Milestones, at Bloomsbury Theatre.
Co-produced by Nell Hardy of Response Ability Theatre, Monica Lakhanpaul (UCL) and Nadia Svirydzenka (De Montfort University), Milestones is based on the powerful stories heard during CHAMPIONS - the ESRC-funded University College London and De Montfort University's project.
The play delves deep into the personal stories of families with children under the age of 5 living in temporary accommodation in the UK. The veil of anonymity provides a safe space for mothers and a father to discuss the barriers in their way as they try to give their children a good start in life. This prompts essential reflections on how society can collectively address this issue.
Living in temporary accommodation is already linked with causing health problems now and later in life for children. The disruption of health and other support services due to the pandemic has only made this situation worse.
The interdisciplinary CHAMPIONS study, which is supported by NIHR ARC North Thames, is working with families and professionals to co-produce recommendations for health, housing, policy and practice. It also seeks to help children under 5 and their families recover from the pandemic and prepare for future ones.
Milestones is a product of the joint efforts of the CHAMPIONS project, families, artists, and organisations fervently dedicated to supporting families in temporary accommodation.
Following the performance, Professor Lakhanpaul and Dr. Svirydzenka will lead a panel discussion to consider the challenges confronted by families navigating the complexities of raising young children in temporary accommodation, and to identify crucial steps towards instigating positive change.
Panel:
Michael Buchanan, BBC Social Affairs Correspondent
Kadie, Expert by Experience
Monica Lakhanpaul, CHAMPIONS overall project lead UCL, Professor of Integrated Child Health UCL
Siobhain McDonagh, Labour MP for Mitcham and Morden and Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Temporary Accommodation
Sam Pratt, Policy and Communications Lead for Shared Health Foundation
CHAIR: Nadia Svirydzenka, lead DMU, Associate Professor Culture, Identity, and Mental Health.
